


The Forever War

by JoshCo99



Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Multi
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-11
Updated: 2018-01-11
Packaged: 2019-03-03 07:57:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,668
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13336824
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/JoshCo99/pseuds/JoshCo99
Summary: What if something changed that night, when Severus Snape heard that fateful prophecy? What if he just wasn't there? What if the prophecy went unfulfilled? The answer is simple: The War never ends. The fight goes on and on and on, and more die each day. Follow Remus, Sirius, Lily, James, Harry and others as they strive to win the unwinnable war, whatever the cost.More characters and ships will be added as they come up in the plot!





	The Forever War

The final days of summer were waning, as Harry Potter slept soundly, tucked up safely in the comfy little room in Godric’s Hollow. Outside, glorious sunshine bounded across the hills, leaping through the little square window to land, shining, on the polished oak of the kitchen table. Around it, sat four adults. One woman, and three men. Their faces were lined with joy, but touched with a hint of exhaustion. One of them, a dark-haired man of thirty-one was doubled over with laughter. A sandy-haired man sat next to him, running his thumb over the porcelain mug in front of him, chuckling heartily. The man and the woman sat opposite them were cuddled close together, the red-haired woman’s head on the man’s shoulder. James and Lily Potter were happy, and Sirius Black and Remus Lupin were happy.  
“I can’t believe he’s going to Hogwarts in a few days…” Remus’ voice was light, and he shook his head, “It seems like only yesterday that he was a baby.”  
“Well, we’re getting old, Remus.” Sirius replied, smirking mischievously, “It happens to the best of us, you know?” He wrapped an arm around Remus’ waist and planted a kiss on his cheek, “And we are the best of us.” He winked at James.  
“We should be thankful we _got_ old.” Lily told them, voice gentle though firm, “Enough people didn’t. Dedalus, Emmeline, Fabian, Gideon… We’re losing more, every day.” Lily’s voice was sad.  
“Come on, Lil… Don’t be sad. Harry’s gonna be with Dumbledore, there’s nowhere he’d be safer.” James’ voice was reassuring, though Remus was sure he heard a hint of uncertainty there.  
“Plus,” Sirius interjected, “Alastor reckons we’re getting close to winning, anyway. They cornered Rosier, Wilkes and Avery three weeks ago. Rosier’s dead, and Wilkes and Avery are in Azkaban. There’s not many of them left, Lily!” Sirius’ voice was cheerful, though it was undermined with the lines of exhaustion and stress that had formed in the past few years. The War had been devastatingly long. The Ministry was close to collapse, more wizards and witches were dying every day, the Giants had staged a full scale massacre of several Muggle villages, and the Dementors had raided the Three Broomsticks only weeks ago.  
“It’s about time. It’s been 21 years, Sirius.” Lily reminded him.  
There was a terse silence. It was broken by the sound of footsteps on the carpeted stairs, hastily jogging down the stairs. An excitable Harry Potter grinned as he threw himself on the two men sat opposite his parents.  
“Uncle Moony! Uncle Padfoot!” Harry grinned, his mother’s eyes staring at both Remus and Sirius from his sockets.  
“Hello, Harry!” Sirius picked him up and placed Harry on the floor.  
Harry was too young to see the War’s toll on his family. His brilliant green eyes had not yet seen enough to know the misery around him; to see the sadness and fear lined on the young faces of the adults sat around the table. Often, he paused over the forced smiles and weak grins, but he never thought much of it. _‘Must just be being an adult,’_ he thought, _‘They must be very tired.’_ Harry placed himself back on the floor, and looked around the table with his characteristic joy.  
Remus almost couldn’t bear it. His eyes found Sirius’, and he knew the man felt the same. Remus wholeheartedly forced a smile, and stood, moving to stare out of the kitchen window. “It’s a fine day,” he muttered to the table, though each of the adults knew he was searching the horizon. Remus had taken on the habit of doing such, recently. “I fancy a walk. Do you fancy coming, Lily?” He asked, turning towards the table, “We’ll leave James and Uncle Padfoot to cause some trouble with our little man?” Lily nodded simply and stood. Her smile looked more genuine, though it was faltering. After a few words of organisation - lunch and the like - Remus and Lily stepped out into the summery August day.

They had walked five minutes in absolute silence. It was slightly uncomfortable, until the two friends stopped, just at the edge of the churchyard. “What’s wrong, Rem?” Lily’s voice was kind, though direct.  
“What if this War never ends?” They were the words that span the Wizarding World. On both sides, combatants were asking themselves the same question. It was a war of stalemates. Every Death Eater killed recruited three more, and the same was true of the Order. Their number had swelled to two hundred. It was unknowable how many Death Eaters there now were.  
“We can only live in hope that it will, and that our side wins.” Lily’s answer was rehearsed. It was the words she told herself every morning; every time she thought of her son. “Dumbledore has plans, good plans. He just needs to--”  
“Work out how to enact them.” Remus finished her sentence, quietly, “Yet I haven’t seen hide nor hair of any progress being made to taking down Voldemort. Dumbledore and Voldemort grow in strength, but never defeat one another. Funny, if you think about it. We may as well be in peacetime, for all the good fighting does.”  
“What happened in Durham?” Lily broke in, shattering the self-pitying sentiments of Remus’ thoughts.  
Remus gave pause for a moment, and looked away. “Everyone died. The pack’s gone.” His voice was quiet, and he gave a humourless smile, “I wouldn’t be surprised if I was the last adult werewolf left.” It was easy to tell Lily.  
Lily’s eyes grew tearful. Remus had shown up in her living room, two weeks before, at three o’clock in the morning. He was covered in blood, weeping and shaking. He had been cleaned, given a dreamless sleeping potion, and sent to sleep in the guest room. “All of them? How many were there?”  
“Oh, I reckon just over a hundred. Greyback’s flock, and Isbeard’s gang. Tore each other to shreds… There was only me left. Greyback and Isbeard killed each other. I told Dumbledore it would happen. Isbeard was not sympathetic to us, but he hated Greyback more. I tried to convince him to join us, rather than Greyback himself… He told me if I didn’t fight, he’d kill me himself.” Remus’ eyes glazed over slightly, “So I fought. And survived. Nothing more.”  
Lily didn’t want to think of what Remus had done to survive. “Have you told Sirius?”  
“No. What good would it do? He knows what happened; doesn’t know that I was involved.” Remus shrugged, and turned his gaze into the sky. “Plus, he hasn’t quite… Recovered.”  
Lily didn’t ask what from. She knew. Tears welled up in her eyes at the thought of it. She also looked away, bringing her eyes down to the moss growing in the drains, and gulping back the lump in her throat. “I… Never thought that he would--”  
“None of us did.” Remus’ voice was cold. He laughed, though it was empty and callous. “He tricked us all, and almost destroyed everything. The last justified victim of the Dementor’s Kiss.” Remus had no pity in his voice. There was seething, freezing hatred there; no pity.  
“Do you think he deserved it?” Lily’s voice was quiet, and she stared into the ragged face of her best friend. Remus looked older, somehow. He was aged, though as if a child had drawn him. His youthful face was scarred, lined and exhausted. He was cartoonishly underweight, and his clothes - a Muggle combination of t-shirt and jeans - hung loosely off him.  
“Don’t you?” Remus’ voice was once more thoughtful, though forcedly so. “He gave them information leading the deaths of Marlene, Emmeline, the Prewetts… Arthur Weasley was lain in St. Mungo’s for six weeks because of him, and he wasn’t even fighting for us. No, Peter Pettigrew proved himself worthy of the Kiss when he took our friendship and gave it to Voldemort.” Remus shook his head, “I’m just glad we caught him.”  
“Yeah…” Lily’s voice was distant. She felt a little sad, though not for Pettigrew. Her sadness was reserved for someone else. Part of her knew that the man had deserved it, but a part of her still latched onto what she once had. “But…”  
“Lily… I know he was your friend, but the fact is, he tried to kill Sirius.” Remus’ voice was kinder, now, “James had no choice. He… Regretted it, I think.” Remus’ words were carefully chosen, and he now eyed Lily carefully.  
“No, he didn’t. My husband hated Severus. I have no doubt James was perfectly happy to kill him.” Lily’s words were matter-of-fact. She felt no ill will towards James, because Remus was right. The situation was, as it had always been, kill or be killed. She was, of course, happy her husband was alive. Though an ebbing feeling of regret still sunk deep into her chest whenever she thought of the boy she had once known.  
“Hated him, yes.” Remus admitted, “Severus Snape and James were never exactly similar people, admittedly. They were bound to animosity.” Remus smiled softly, “But James never wanted him dead. I can assure you of that.” Remus gently patted Lily on the shoulder. The gesture felt slightly awkward, and it wasn’t long before Lily had pulled him into a hug.  
“We’ve lost so much…” Lily sobbed into his shoulder, “Marlene, and Emmeline, Fabian, Gideon… Even Peter. They’re all gone. James is right. We are the best… But only because we’re still alive. Everyone else is dead…”  
Remus didn’t reply for a while. He, too, was thinking of those that had gone. His heart had broken over the deaths of Marlene and Dedalus. He had cried himself to sleep when the Prewetts had died. He had even spared a tear when Pettigrew was Kissed, though he would never admit it. Emmeline’s death had devastated them all, when they found out on Christmas day. “We fight now in their name, Lily. That’s all we can do. We win this War for them.”


End file.
